Elder Bednar

Today I (we) had the most wonderful experience! Elder David A. Bednar came and spoke to my (our) stake in a special stake conference. My heart is so full. The Spirit in that meeting was so incredible. There is no doubt in my mind that this church is true. The meeting couldn't have flowed better if one person wrote all the talks/testimonies. It was just absolutely incredible. I don't have the words to explain, but I'll try.

My sisters-in-law came out to stay with us last night so they could attend with us this morning. They had never heard a General Authority speak in person. As we're driving, we discussed what time to get there this morning. Both of them said "7:00" (that was when the doors opened). They wanted to sit up close to hear Elder Bednar speak. We all were able to get up and get ready and be out the door by 6:20 or so. We arrived at the stake center at 6:45 and were able to get seats in the very front row. It was such a cool experience. While Elder Bednar was speaking, he looked me in the eyes, and I felt like he was talking to me. It was so amazing. You can just feel the power and the spirit of this great man.

The topic of the day was the Holy Ghost. At first I was like "oh, well, okay then. That's pretty basic stuff. I guess I could use a refresher course." OH NO. It was not a refresher by any means. It was powerful stuff.

Elder Perry started the meeting, and his message was to Stop, Look, and Listen. As children we are all taught to stop, look, and listen before you cross a busy road. He gave a story of one child who ignored the caution of the crossing guard because she had to get to her destination. She stepped out into the intersection and was run over by a Jeep. She couldn't choose the consequences of her decision, but they were severe. He paralleled this to us, in our busy lives, forgetting to set aside some quiet time to Stop, Look, and Listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. I just thought that was such a good application, especially since I sometimes find myself hectically running around trying to get stuff done and I don't have any time for myself. Another thing he said that really struck me is that when the Savior was leaving his Apostles, he basically said "I will not leave you comfortless." Isn't it the same for us today? Christ has not left us comfortless. We have the same Comforter available to us as the Apostles of old did. Isn't that amazing?

President Tait talked about conversion. Sometimes we talk about it like it's an event that happens in our life. It is not, it is a process. As we have a desire to become more like Christ, we will become a better person. He made a remark something akin to this "I'm pretty good today; I'm better than I was 5 years ago; I hope that 5 years from now I'm better than I am today." How awesome is that thought? We have the capability to constantly work on becoming a better person.

Sister Palmer then talked and gave a story about how one lady in the mission (I'm not sure if she was a missionary or what) went to the Distribution Center to order some Books of Mormon. She ordered some in spanish and some in english and had space for a few more in her box. She looked over the list of languages the Book of Mormon was available in, and was attracted to Urdu. She had no idea what Urdu was, or what part of the world it was spoken in, but she bought two copies of the Book of Mormon in Urdu. The day after they arrived, the missionaries received a call asking if by chance they had 2 copies of the Book of Mormon in Urdu. How sweet would that have felt, to have listened to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and to have followed them? How awful would it have felt to not listened and then receive that phone call? I know that I am grateful for the times when I have listened to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and found out later WHY that prompting came. It doesn't happen all the time, but the times it has have really increased my testimony.

President Palmer touched on how the Apostles of old gave their lives for the gospel. Most of them were killed for what they believed. He submitted that the Apostles now give their lives for the gospel in a much different way. They give up careers, money, and really the rest of their lives to the Lord, doing what He would have them do. I had never really thought about it that way, but I recognize the truth of that corollary.

Many testimonies were given along the way. I don't know the names of everyone that bore their testimony, but I just wanted to share thoughts from two of them. Sister Tait shared an experience when she was a fairly young mother. It was Saturday, and it was busy. She had a few kids as well as a new baby. She felt impressed to call her dad. She thought "yeah, yeah, I'll call him a little later." Again, she felt like she should call her dad. She again just thought about how busy her day was and said she'd call him later. The impression came a third time, and she couldn't ignore it any longer. She called her dad and he said that now he had talked to all his children that day. The next day, he passed away. She was so grateful that she had heeded that prompting so she could have said goodbye to her father one last time. She didn't know why she felt prompted to call him at the time, but it became apparent to her later. Also, President Higbee mentioned that at the Leadership Meeting yesterday, Elder Bednar kept asking "have you heard more than was said?" to all who were present. It just really struck a chord with me, for how true that is. When we are in a situation where the Spirit is so strong, we should be open to the teachings of the Spirit, for oftentimes it will whisper things to us alone. I just really liked that thought.

Elder Bednar concluded the meeting. He first addressed some remarks to any in the congregation that might not be of our faith. He shared a story of how his two sons were out riding Big Wheels (that's what we called them, I'm not sure of the actual name) and one of them crashed into the side of a parked car. The older brother went and picked him up and brought him inside. He washed his arm and face with soap, covered it in half a tube of Neosporin, and then proceeded to use half a box of Band-Aids on him. After it was done, the younger brother took the rest of the Neosporin and Band-Aids and started doing the same to his friends. Elder Bednar made the correlation that because the cleansing, ointment, and protection had made him feel so much better, he wanted to share that good feeling with his friends. It is the same with the Gospel. We want to share that which is most precious to us with others so that they can feel the same joy that emanates from it.

He also mentioned that God has always spoken. There is record of him speaking to young men in the Bible. He has not lost the capacity to speak; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Why then, is it so outrageous that He appeared to Joseph Smith when he asked in faith? (And I would interject, why then, are we not able to ask questions and receive revelation?)

He talked of confirmation, and how in that blessing, we are told to "receive the Holy Ghost." He said that "it is an authorized admonition" through the authority of the Priesthood to act in seeking for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. How cool is that? He also gave a few guidelines for us to help evaluate where we are at.

1. Do we sincerely desire the companionship of the Holy Ghost?
-if not, we should pray for that desire until we do.
2. Do we invite the companionship of the Holy Ghost into our lives?
-we do so through morning prayer, scripture study, and church attendance
-the only reason we do anything in the church is to invite the Holy Ghost. (How powerful is that thought?)
3. After we ask for the companionship of the Holy Ghost, what do we do? We ACT!
a) the companionship of the Holy Ghost typically comes incrementally, not at once.
-it's not always through dramatic experiences.
-what we're looking for effects what we see. (Isn't it true? If you're looking for this great, dramatic experience, we won't recognize the small, subtle nudges)
b) impressions from the Holy Ghost come as conclusions, not explanations. (almost every time)
-he asked us to please not try to figure out the why. He gave an example of one time when he was traveling with his wife, he felt prompted to change their flight from Tuesday to Monday. His thoughts were that they should change because travel in that part of the world wasn't always on schedule and that way they could make their appointments for the rest of the week. However, on the plane, he met a man whose wife was the ward Relief Society President and who had a son on a mission but was not a member. For that 10 hour flight, Elder Bednar talked with him about the issues he had with the church and what was keeping him from joining the church. At the end of that conversation, Elder Bednar invited the man to General Conference when his son came home from his mission and said he could get them pretty good seats. The reason to switch the flight to Monday wasn't to keep the appointments for the rest of the week, it was to be with that man and resolve those issues as only a member of the Twelve could. However, he went on to relate that a few months later, he received an email from this man. The night before, as his wife was driving his younger son back from Mutual, someone pulled up alongside and shot his son. And Elder Bednar was the first person this man thought of. The Lord knows what is going to happen. Could he not have put Elder Bednar on that plane to not only help him resolve his issues with the church, but also to start a relationship of trust that this man could turn to in his time of need? (I just thought that was a powerful experience.)
c) impressions typically come when you're moving, not sitting still
- strength and faith come after we act
-Peter didn't have the capacity to walk on water until he was already out of the boat!
-Heavenly Father won't send angels to do something that his servants on Earth can do
4. Why do we act like having the Holy Ghost is a dramatic thing?
-we ought to have the Holy Ghost with us a lot more than it's not.
-why do we notice when the Holy Ghost comes, but not when it leaves?
-why would we have/do/say/etc anything that would cause the Holy Ghost to leave? (he gave the example of watching a movie and saying "well, that was a good movie except for the few swear words." As soon as those swear words were uttered, the Holy Ghost left! Why do we feel it's acceptable to participate in something that causes the Holy Ghost to leave?)
-if we are following Christ, we should be doing what He would do and we wouldn't need to be prompted by the Holy Ghost. The Lord trusts us, so He is not going to guide us in all things. If we are doing what is right, we will have the companionship of the Holy Ghost. We don't need to wait for a prompting telling us what to do.

Lastly, he gave a story of how he went to a stake conference the weekend after being made a member of the Twelve. He asked the stake president why the Lord had sent the keys to the stake. The president replied that he didn't know, but would think about it. After a little while, he said that he thought part of the reason was because his brother was really struggling with the Word of Wisdom. Elder Bednar wanted to talk with this man's brother. He said he got into the room with this man and the guy was just really nervous. Elder Bednar went up to this man, put his hands on his shoulders, and told him "You can do this. The Lord knows you can do this and he has sent me to tell you you can do this. I promise you that you can do this." (and by the way, he had had no idea previously what he was going to say to this man) He then gave this man a hug and a kiss on the cheek. He said that he couldn't give each of us a kiss on the cheek and tell us this, but to imagine for a minute that he could. He then proceeded to tell us that we could do this. Through our exercise of faith, we will know that we can do this.

Through that last experience, I was just bawling. It felt like he was speaking to me personally. I have been really struggling lately with so many things. I am losing my drive to finish school. I have been struggling a lot with my self-worth. Last night, I was writing in my journal about how I was feeling and I just hurt inside. And Elder Bednar's words this morning were an answer to my prayers. It was just what I needed to hear. And I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to be there today, and to experience that. I'm grateful for the knowledge that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me, and knows me individually. He knows what I'm going through and is aware of my needs. How grateful I am to know that He lives. I want each of you to know that I know the Gospel is true and that I'm not ashamed. I'm far from perfect, but I try to be a little better every day. I leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.